The Minister for Education and Skills has just announced significant changes to Leaving Certificate grading, and related proposals to change the points system for entry to higher education. These changes, which will apply to students sitting the Leaving Certificate in 2017, represent a major reform of the system, the most significant in decades, and one which promises very positive benefits for students.
The aim of these changes is clear. We are all too well aware, as the Leaving Certificate approaches, that the current examination and points system puts students under enormous strain. We want to continue to encourage students to work hard and to be ambitious for themselves, and we want to recognise and celebrate their achievements, yet at the same time we do not wish to put them under excessive or unnecessary stress. The proposed changes are carefully designed to alleviate unnecessary pressures on students.
One source of pressure is the proliferation of separate denominated entry routes to higher education, where students entering university are asked to choose between quite specialised courses. Students are often choosing between subjects of which they have little or no experience.
Furthermore, the number of separate courses, many with very few places available, is inflating the points required for some of these courses.
The universities have agreed to significantly reduce the number of separate entry routes, admit students to broader areas of study, such as arts, science, business, engineering or social science, and then allow students to specialise over time. This will make student choices simpler and more appropriate, and help take the heat out of the points race.
The current Leaving Certificate grade scale, and how it interacts with the points system, also creates excess pressure. The current grade system has 14 grade bands (A1, A2, B1, B2, B3 and so on). The assessment of students against such a finely graduated scale is unique internationally, and creates real problems for students . No matter how well you are doing, you can always do a little bit better: two or three extra marks will bring you up to the next grade. That can get you five extra points, and those five extra points might be the difference between getting the course you want and just missing it. If every mark matters, and a few marks can make an enormous difference to your future, is it any surprise that many students respond to this by learning from the marking scheme, setting aside their natural interest in and enthusiasm for the subject to learn by rote the key points highlighted in the marking scheme?
A system which creates such stress, and distorts student learning, requires reform. The new system has only eight grade bands (Grade 1 to Grade 8). For the majority of students, a few extra marks will make no difference to their overall grade, allowing them to engage in real learning, knowing that their grade will fairly reflect their ability, and that there is no point in learning material by rote to get those few extra marks.
One very important proposal is the award of points for the new H7grade (30-39 per cent on the higher level paper, which closely corresponds to the current E grade).
The motivation for this proposal is to increase the uptake of higher level. If we look at the current situation, a student who expects to achieve a HC or HD grade faces a real dilemma. If they get 43 per cent on their paper (a HD3) they will be awarded 45 points; if they get 37 per cent (a HE) they will receive no points. However, if they take the ordinary level paper, they are likely to receive an OB or OC grade, and somewhere between 20 and 45 points. Research on Leaving Certificate grade patterns shows that an E grade at higher level represents the same level of achievement as a C grade at ordinary level; we award points for the latter, so why not the former? There are commentators who will describe this as “dumbing down” or “points for a fail”. It is nothing of the sort. It is simply a fair recognition of the student’s achievement. The award of points for the new H7 grade will encourage students to stick with higher level, and appropriately recognise what they achieve.
There are other important technical elements in this reform, and it is important to point out that our commitment to improve the system does not end here. There are many other proposals under discussion, and it is likely that further change will occur in 2018 and beyond. The announcement this week presents the full picture for the 2017 Leaving Certificate, but also signals that all the education partners are committed to one goal: progressive, collaborative and careful reform of the system, with the best interests of students as our central concern.
Professor Philip Nolan is President of Maynooth University and chair of the Irish Universities Association Task Group on reform of the points system